Commissioned by the Club of Rome, a group of influential world leaders, Meadows at al1 defined the limits to growth in a report of the same name. Moreover, the authors also assumed in later, amended editions, that the earth’s reserves of raw materials will be depleted and its ability to absorb emissions exhausted as early as 1980. Overshooting the planetary boundaries2 requires swift action on the part of the economy. “Doughnut economics”3 proposes a remedy that models a balanced state between the needs of humanity and their environmental impact.
The Textile Exchange’s analyses suggest that, besides slow growth, aggressive material substitution and the closing of the innovation gap are the two most important measures for the textile industry4. This makes its transformation from a linear to a circular economy a pertinent field of research5. The aim of circular textiles is to reduce the extraction of raw materials, three thirds of which are finite resources. This could succeed with a cascading use of products, an increased lifespan of textile raw materials/products while maintaining their quality and a reduction in consumption.
To this end, we research circular solutions for processes, products and strategies, test These solutions in practice and facilitate the knowledge transfer to teaching and the public. The research perspective of circularity challenges the linear value chains associated with products and textiles and investigates the impact of circular approaches such as cradle-to-cradle6 from a design research angle7. In the SDG, circularity is predominantly described in goal 12 (responsible consumption and production).
We conduct our research projects according to scientific concepts such as the ‘circular economy’8 to save resources. Applying a systemic, circular design perspective on products and textiles with the aim to ensure resource effectiveness and prolonged product life span means committing to a cascading circular approach along the entire value chain from “use” to “reuse”, to “remanufacturing”, “repair”, and “recycling” in the product design process. In parallel, other strategies are proving useful, for instance designing products with an adequate lifespan, enhancing the qualitative (in terms of functionality, aesthetics and price) and emotional value, and systemic interventions in the value chain.
Here, we are using the opportunity to apply our extensive expertise in the circular use of textile materials including mixed fibre, natural fibre and cellulose. Not only does this give our projects a solid theoretical9 foundation, our research is also firmly entrenched in our research partners’ day-to-day corporate realities and in the regulatory framework10. To investigate our research questions, we are using qualitative methods including expert interviews and case studies, qualitative research methods such as the Higg Index, as well as design methods such as prototyping and iterative experiments. This allows for the practical assessment (reality check) of the research subject and the knowledge transfer of field-proven sustainable design concepts and circular strategies. Research and practice partners from various disciplines are involved in our research process along the entire value chain. Our design researchers also help to explore questions related to circularity in the roles of decision-making moderators, materials experts, communicators in transdisciplinary networks and as process or product innovators.
We explore the following superordinate research questions from the circularity perspective:
1 — How can we reduce the extraction of raw materials from the environment?
According to the Circularity Gap Report, only about 8.6% of the resources used are reintroduced into the cycle11. At the same time, fibre consumption has doubled since 200012. In the textiles sector, only about 1% of textiles can be recycled at the same quality13 — increasing that rate is a key objective of our research activities.
According to the theory of the “Circular Economy”14, the extraction of raw materials from the environment can either be avoided, reduced or substituted, or raw materials are retained in the cycle. According to the Ellen McArthur Foundation, cascading use means keeping products, subproducts and materials in the cycle for as long as possible along four consecutive strategies—reuse, refurbish, remanufacture and recycle—to keep the amount of new raw materials entering the system at a minimum and to avoid waste wherever possible. From a design perspective, there are various ways to contribute to achieving this goal: through material and product design, by developing varied models for the cascading use of textiles, by making secondary raw materials available, by reducing consumption, or through the integration of products in the materials cycle.
No matter if closed-loop or open-loop, a circular system is only a valid proposition if it saves resources. This can be undermined by the rebound effect15 in which more recycling (and more resource efficiency) cause more consumption16.
2 — How can we maximise the utility of design as a tool to develop circular solutions?
80% of the environmental impact of products can be attributed to their design17. While this indicates great responsibility, it also illustrates the great potential for change in design. The POS, which according to Stahel is the final point in the linear economy, is the starting point in the circular economy. We therefore need to shift our perspective in product development18. In the design stages, designers must anticipate product life cycles that are as cascading as possible. They can achieve this by applying one of the varied “Design-for” approaches19. However, this also requires extensive, up-to-date knowledge of adjacent fields (e.g., of consumer behaviour, collection and sorting systems, recycling technology, supply chain management), new forms of collaboration along the supply chain and new criteria for design decisions (e.g., as relates to the choice of materials, make, style, business model, etc.). Together with the new criteria, this knowledge opens new fields of action from a design perspective and for optimum circularity. Our goal is to develop new knowledge and criteria based on our theoretical knowledge and practical experience so as to exploit the full potential of design in these fields of action. Not least of all by bringing together teaching and research, it is our goal to process our findings for the benefit of designers in their day-to-day practice while also publishing scientific papers on the subject.
3 — What might a Swiss and European circular ecosystem for products and textiles look like under the premise of "as close as possible, as far away as necessary"
In the field of products and textiles, the highly fragmented global value chains are often non-transparent supply chains. This makes it difficult to understand the social and technical implications of the varied production processes and what it takes to gain access to the related information, hampering the textile industry’s transformation towards circularity. By acting within regional ecosystems, we ensure transparency in our projects, strengthen regional value chains and adhere to social standards. Applying dedicated production strategies, our aim is to develop design-based circular value creation loops that operate in the framework of new local and regional collaborations and that support a systemic rethinking of the industry. This leads to greater influence on the social and technical conditions of individual materials cycles and, not least, on needs-based material qualities and new material standards. The objective is to actively support the transformation of both the Swiss industry and society through real-life pilot projects and the applied approach adopted by the research group.
Autor:innen: Adler Françoise, Häusermann Martina, Bachmann Helbling Carola, Schmidt Lea, Weber-Hansen Andrea
____________________
1 Meadows et al., 1972
2 Rockström et al., 2009
3 Raworth, 2017
4 Stoneburner, 2022
5 Circle Economy, 2022
6 McDonough & Braungart, 2010)(Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2013
7 Ev. R. Buchanan?
8 Raworth, 2017; Stahel, 2018; Webster, 2017
9 Balkenende & Bakker, 2018; Ballie et al., 2016; Campbell-Johnston et al., 2020; Charter & Tischner, 2017; Fletcher & Tham, 2004; Goldsworthy et al., 2019; Niinimäki & others, 2018; Reike et al., 2018; RSA, 2014
10 Directive (EU) 2018/ of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 Amending Directive 2008/98/EC on Waste, 2018), Extended Producer Responsibility
11 Haigh et al., 2021
12 Hickel, 2021
13 EllenMacArthur, 2017
14 ebd.
15 Jevons, 1865
16 Levänen et al., 2021
17 Graedel et al., 1995
18 Stahel, 2019
19 Adler et al., 2021
Bibliography
Adler, F., Schmidt, L., Weber Marin, A., & Willi, B. (2021). Design Decision Tool für eine nachhaltige Produktentwicklung. https://zenodo.org/record/5127157
Balkenende, R., & Bakker, C. (2018). Designing for a circular economy: Make, use and Recover Products. Sustainable Fashion in a Circular Economy; Niinimäki, K., Ed.; Aalto University: Helsinki, Finland, 76–95.
Ballie, J., McHattie, L.-S., & Broadley, C. (2016). Material Futures: Crafting Circular Conversations.
Campbell-Johnston, K., Vermeulen, W. J. V., Reike, D., & Brullot, S. (2020). The Circular Economy and Cascading: Towards a Framework. Resources, Conservation & Recycling: X, 7, 100038. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rcrx.2020.100038
Charter, M., & Tischner, U. (2017). Sustainable Solutions: Developing Products and Services for the Future. Routledge.
Circle Economy. (2022). The Circularity Gap Report 2022 (S. 1–64). Circle Economy. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NMAUtZcoSLwmHt_r5TLWwB28QJDghi6Q/view?usp=embed_facebook
Directive (EU) 2018/ of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 amending Directive 2008/98/EC on waste. (2018). 32.
Ellen MacArthur. (2017). A New Textiles Economy: Redesigning fashion’s future https://ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/a-new-textiles-economy
Ellen MacArthur Foundation. (2013). Towards the Circular Economy, Economic and Business Rationale for an Accelerated Transition. Ellen MacArthur Foundation: Cowes, UK.
Fletcher, K., & Tham, M. (2004). Clothing rhytms. In Eternally yours, time in design (1. Aufl., S. 254–274). 010 Publishers.
Goldsworthy, K., Earley, R., Politowicz, K., & others. (2019). Circular Design Speeds: Prototyping fast and slow sustainable fashion concepts through interdisciplinary design research.
Graedel, T. E., Comrie, P. R., & Sekutowski, J. C. (1995). Green product design. AT&T technical journal, 74(6), 17–25.
Haigh, L., de Wit, M., von Daniels, C., Colloricchio, A., & Hoogzaad, J. (2021). Circularity Gap Report 2021.pdf. https://www.circularity-gap.world/2021
Hickel, J. (2021, November 16). The degrowth imperative—How to create a just and sustainable economy. Textile Exchange - Textile Sustainability Conference 2021, Dublin.
Jevons, W. S. (1865). The coal question: Can Britain survive. First published in, 914.
Levänen, J., Uusitalo, V., Härri, A., Kareinen, E., & Linnanen, L. (2021). Innovative recycling or extended use? Comparing the global warming potential of different ownership and end-of-life scenarios for textiles. Environmental Research Letters, 16(5), 054069. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abfac3
McDonough, W., & Braungart, M. (2010). Cradle to cradle: Remaking the way we make things. North point press.
Meadows, D. H., Meadows, D. L., Randers, J., & Behrens, W. W. (1972). The limits to growth. New York, 102(1972), 27.
Niinimäki, K. & others. (2018). Sustainable fashion in a circular economy. Aalto University; T-Server, 07 Literaturarchiv. https://shop.aalto.fi/media/filer_public/53/dc/53dc45bd-9e9e-4d83-916d-1d1ff6bf88d2/sustainable_fashion_in_a_circular_economyfinal.pdf
Raworth, K. (2017). Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist. Chelsea Green Publishing.
Reike, D., Vermeulen, W. J. V., & Witjes, S. (2018). The circular economy: New or Refurbished as CE 3.0? —Exploring Controversies in the Conceptualization of the Circular Economy through a Focus on History and Resource Value Retention Options. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 135, 246–264. Literarutrarchiv CCPT. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2017.08.027
Rockström, J., Steffen, W., Noone, K., Persson, \AAsa, Chapin III, F. S., Lambin, E., Lenton, T. M., Scheffer, M., Folke, C., Schellnhuber, H. J., & others. (2009). Planetary boundaries: Exploring the safe operating space for humanity. Ecology and society, 14(2).
RSA, T. G. R. (2014). Designing for a circular economy: Lessons from The Great Recovery 2012 – 2016. RSA The Great Recovery; T-Server, 07 Literaturarchiv. http://www.greatrecovery.org.uk/resources/new-report-lessons-from-the-great-recovery-2012-2016/
Stahel, W. R. (2018). Circular Industrial Economy. In M. Charter (Hrsg.), Designing for the Circular Economy (1. Aufl., S. 12–22). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315113067-2
Stahel, W. R. (2019). The circular economy: A user’s guide. Routledge.
Stoneburner, M. (2022, November 15). Breakout 1B: How to Achieve a 45% GHG Reduction Across Fibers and Materials. Textile Exchange Conference.
Textile Exchange. (2021). Preferred Fibre & Materials: Market Report 2021. https://textileexchange.org/2020-preferred-fiber-and-materials-market-report-pfmr-released/
Webster, K. (2017). The circular economy: A wealth of flows. Ellen MacArthur Foundation Publishing; Buch Bibliothek D&K.
